Mail-bag catcher.



E. WIESER.

MAIL BAG GATOHER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2, 1911.

Patented Aug. 15, 1911,

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

INVENTOR, Em mus \n/lese P WITNESSES A7TORNEY.

COLUMBIA PLANUGIIAPHCO.WASHINGTON. n. c.

E. WIESER.

MAIL BAG UATGHBR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2, 1911.

Patented Aug. 15, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR, [a IDIUS Wnese momma WITNESSES COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co.,WASHINGTON. I). c.

' E. WIESER.

MAIL BAG GATGHBR.

APILIOATION FILED mm: 2, 1911.

1,000,653, Patented Aug. 15,1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVENTOH, Eqnmus Wncsem w/r/vEssE's momvsy COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH ccu.WASHINGTON n. c.

' them certain of taking up EGIDIUS WIESER, OF IPASSAIC, NEW JERSEY.

MAIL-BAG CATGHEB.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 15, 1911.

Application filed June 2, 1911. Serial No. 630,861.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EGIDIUS WVIEsER, a subject of the Emperor ofGermany, residing at Passaic, in the county of Passaic and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-BagCatchers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relatesto devices for use on moving trains to pick upmail-bags held in suitable supporting means beside the track, and it hasfor its object to improve contrivances of this character by making themail-bags in every instance and generally more reliable and eflicientthan such devices now are.

According to my invention the improved mail-bag catcher, once it engagesthe bag, positively grips and holds the same, instead of merelypassively sustaining the same after the manner of the plain or straightswinging arm over which the bag is slung or doubled by the force of theimpact. Again, my device is so constructed as to be adaptedautomatically to recede into the car after having picked up a mail bag,thus making it unnecessary for the attendant to perform a service whichif not performed might be the cause of some accident.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of thedevice, showing it attached to the car and in operative position; Fig. 2is a rear elevation of the device, attached to the car and in operativeposition; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the part of the device which directlyreceives the mailbag, the parts being in the gripping position and amail-bag being shown in broken lines and held thereby; Fig. 4: is afront elevation of what is seen in Fig. 3, showing certain parts insection; Fig. 5 is a rear elevation' of a detail illustrating the meansfor locking one of the gripping levers in the open position, certainparts appearing in section; Fig. 6 is V a transverse sectional view ofFig. 3 substantially in the vertical plane of one of the bolts, certainparts appearing in elevation; Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view of one of thegripping levers showing the face thereof which adjoins the bolt; Fig. 8illustrates a detail of the trigger mecha nism; and, Fig. 9 is a planview showing a car, the improved device attached thereto and themail-bag and its support all in plan.

To the inner surface of the side wall a of a car 6 near the side door 0of the latter are secured the brackets (Z in which is pivoted the head 6of a T-shaped arm f made in two sections, the section g thereof beingpreferably a plain piece of tubing and the section h a substantiallyyoke-shaped member having a stud 2' at one end telescoped into andsuitably secured to the free end of the section 9.

Before describing the mechanism which is carried by the yoke-shapedsection h it may be remarked that when the device is in operativeposition to pick up a mail-bag i suitably held in the usual manner by asupport j along side the track on which the car moves it stands as shownin full lines in Figs. 1, 2 and 9. In that position its arm 7 is opposedat the back thereof by a spring buffer k carried by a bracket Z securedto the outside of the wall a of the car. When the device comes incontact with the mail-bag, the impact tends to swing the device backwardon its pivot, compressing the spring of the bulfer, and the ensuingdistension of the spring then operates to swing the device forward onits pivot and around the latter into the position illustrated by brokenlines in Fig. 1. The attendant has thus merely to set the device and seethat it is swung out into operative position before passing each mailstation, and then remove the bag which has been taken up.

Projecting forwardly from the section it are two flaring arms m, which,with said section, make a substantially fork-shaped member. These armsmay be detachably secured to the sect-ion h' by bolts, screws or othersecuring means a.

On the bolts 0, as pivots, are fulcrumed two levers p, one being aboveand the other below the section it, the long arm of each lever beingcurved and the short arm being formed as a disk 9 which is pivotallyconnected by a link 1* with a stem 8 whose free end is threaded andcarries a conical nut 1. over which is fitted the reduced or conical endof a tension spring a which is coiled about the stem and has its otherend held by the jaws o (engaging between coils of the spring) removablysecured to a bracket w attached to the section it and apertured to guidethe stem and provided with a longitudinal horizontal slot w to permitarticulation of the link 1' and with a longitudinal vertical slot inwhich is guided the pivot .2 (connecting the link and stem). The springstend to hold the levers in the position shown in Fig. 1, and when thelevers are forced against the tension of the springs into their foldedpositions (Fig. 3) since the pivots 2 are arranged to slide in the slotsy of the brackets w the pivots are supported by the brackets in such away that no bending strain is imposed on the stems .9. Each stem and itsspring is supported in its free end-portion by a bracket 2 projectingrearwardly from the section it.

To the back of the section it adjacent each bolt 0 is attached a fitting3 in which slides vertically a bolt 4, the right-hand bolt being drawndown and the left-hand bolt up by a spring 5 (Fig. 5) suitablyconnecting the bolt with one of the securing screws 6 for the fitting 3.The face of the disk q of each lever p which adjoins the sect-ion h isformed with an arc-shaped camsurface 7 struck about the fulcrum of thelever as a center, said cam-surface terminating in a shoulder 8. Wheneach lever is moved into the folded position (Fig. 3) its cam-surface 7wipes over the bolt, which finally springs into engagement with theshoulder 8 to hold the lever in the folded position.

Each bolt is controlled by a blade 9 penetrating a slot 10 in the boltand having an inclined or cam-edge 11. The blade 9 forms a part of thesliding bar 12 arranged to move in a bore 13 formed in the section h andthe fitting 3. To each arm n is secured a bracket 14 on a pivot 15 inwhich is fulcrumed a lever 16 movable around its pivot in a slot 17 inthe arm m from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3 to theposition shown in dotted lines in said figure. (18 is a set-screwwhereby to adjust each lever 16 when it stands in the full line positionin Fig.

The short arm of each lever 16 is pivotally connected by the link 19,including an adjusting turn-buckle 20, with the bar 12. A spiral spring21 coiled about each link 19 and connecting it with a fixed hook 22projecting from the section h normally holds the trigger mechanism foreach lever p, comprising the sliding bar 12, lever 16 and link 9, in thefull line position shown in Fig. 3.

The operation is as follows: Before the device is swung out from the carinto the position shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 9, the attendant turns eachlever 79 on its fulcrum into the open position, until it latches withand is held by its bolt 4:. The springs 21 normally hold the blades orsliding bars 12 in the position illustrated in Fig. 6, at which time, asstated, the levers 16 extend across the space between the arms m,overlapping each other and each substantially parallel with the sectionh. Then the mail-bag, held extended by its support as shown in Fig. 2,is reached, the levers 16 come into contact therewith and are swung backinto the dotted line positions thereof shown in Fig. 3. The cam-edges 11of the sliding bars 12 are thus caused to force the bolts 4 back againstthe tension of their springs until they release the levers p which,under the tension of their springs u, immediately swing into foldedrelation to the section 72, and coact therewith to grip the bagsecurely. The bag now remains firmly held by the device and cannotrelease itself therefrom. lVhen the device swings into the car under theimpulse of the buffer, as described, the attendant draws the arms 19into the full line position in Fig. 1, where they are then latched andheld, the mail-bag being thus of course released.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is 1. The combination of the arm adapted toproject laterally from the car, a spring-actuated lever fulcrumedtherein and normally movable into folded relation thereto, a latchmechanism adapted to hold the lever in its openposition and a triggermeans controlling the latch mechanism and having its operating portionarranged in position to receive the impact of the bag, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination of the arm adapted to project laterally from the car,a lever movable into and out of folded relation to said arm andfulcrumed therein, and means, carried by said arm and having itsoperating portion arranged in position to receive the impact of the bag,for controlling said lever, substantially as described.

8. The combination of the arm adapted to project laterally from the carand having a forwardly open forked member, a springactuated leverfulcrumed in said arm and normally movable across the space of itsforked member into folded relation to the rear part thereof, a latchmechanism adapted to hold the lever in its open position, and a triggermeans controlling the latch mechanism and having its operating portionarranged in position to receive the impact of the bag, substantially asdescribed.

4. The combination of the arm adapted to project laterally from the carand having a forwardly open forked member, a lever movable across thespace of said forked member into folded relation to the rear partthereof and fulcrumed in said arm, and means, carried by said arm andhaving its operating portion arranged in position to receive the impactof the bag, for controlling said lever, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the arm adapted to project laterally from thecar,'a spring-actuated lever fulcrumed therein and normally movable intofolded relation thereto, a bolt to lock the lever in its open position,another lever disposed forward of the arm, and

7. In combination, with the car, a mailbag catching-arm pivoted thereinon a substantially vertical axis and adapted to project laterallytherefrom, and an elastic buffer yielding rearwardly and disposed backof the arm when the latter occupies its laterally projecting position,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EGIDIUS WVIESER.

Witnesses:

JOHN W. STEWARD, WM. D. BELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

